JUVENILE DRUG COURT

                Mission: To reduce substance abuse and recidivism among nonviolent juvenile offenders; provide constructive and intensive court supervision, extensive substance abuse treatment, educational and employment services; and maximize a juvenile’s opportunities of success.

                 Major Objective: To reduce delinquency and alcohol or substance abuse dependence among juveniles and their families; to provide treatment and incentives to juveniles rather than incarceration.  Through the use of rewards and sanctions, to encourage a juvenile to progress and succeed.  Participants should ultimately display significant improvement in school and family relationships.

                Design: The Drug Court is designed to combine the persuasive powers of the court with a therapeutic regimen of treatment.  This combination fosters the rehabilitation of participants while at the same time providing them with a sense of accountability for their actions.

          Requirements:    

·                    The Drug Court is a six to twelve month program in which participants are required to attend substance abuse counseling, submit to random drug screens, attend school or obtain a general equivalency diploma (GED), follow a court ordered curfew, and comply with any other orders issued by the court. 

·                    Services involve substance abuse treatment but may also include family, grief, anger, behavior, or any other form of therapeutic intervention that is deemed necessary for a participant’s well being. 

·                    Schools: The rug Court works closely with schools and GED programs to promote youth independence after Drug Court. 

·                    Incentives and Sanctions:  The Drug Court program operates on a system of incentives and sanctions that rewards positive behavior by participants as well as responds to non-compliance.

·                    Post plea, post-adjudication model:  The Drug Court program is a post plea, post-adjudication model.  Participants are required to attend court sessions every week, or as otherwise ordered, so that the magistrate can review their status and resolve any issues that may have developed. 

·                    Monitoring: Participants are monitored by Drug Court program supervisors for progress in treatment at school and at home.  Weekly reports are provided to the court by treatment providers and schools. 

·                    Recommendations are made to the magistrate as to services, levels of care, incentives and sanctions. 

·                    Graduation from the Drug Court occurs when a juvenile has attained his or her treatment and educational goals as set forth in an individual treatment plan.  At graduation, the legal charges are dismissed, the plea is vacated and the petitions closed. 

·                    This intensive level of court intervention and supervision provides participants and their families with the resources necessary to overcome the scourge of substance abuse.

Contact Information:

Honorable Jeremiah S. Jeremiah, Jr.
Chief Judge
401-458-5300
Rhode Island Family Court
One Dorrance Plaza
Providence, Rhode Island  02903

Honorable Francis J. Murray
Associate Justice 
401-458-5310
Rhode Island Family Court
One Dorrance Plaza
Providence, Rhode Island  02903

Kevin Richard
Administrator, Speciality Courts
401-458-5025
Rhode Island Family Court
One Dorrance Plaza
Providence, Rhode Island  02903